Mexico says it opposes a US plan to build more fences along the border in order to control illegal immigration. Foreign Secretary Luis Ernesto Derbez said his country "does not believe physical barriers are the solution". President George W Bush announced the construction of more fences in the 3,200km (2,000 miles) border while touring US states earlier this week. About 10 million Mexicans live in the United States and more than four million are said to stay illegally. More than a million are arrested every year as they try to enter the US to look for work. Experts said the migration trend would continue because of the huge wage gap between the US and Mexico. Mr Derbez insisted his country's position over physical barriers was not only in relation to the United States. "Mexico voted against the fence Israel built in the Gaza Strip, and against the fences Spain built in Melilla and elsewhere," he said. ... http://news.bbc.co.uk

A husband and wife who waited three months to see what Hurricane Katrina did to their neighborhood finally returned Thursday to find their blue, wood-frame house sitting in the front yard, three 3 feet off its foundation. Louis Phillips and Donna Williams were among those allowed access to the Lower Ninth Ward, the last section of the city to reopen since Hurricane Katrina struck Aug. 29. The Lower Ninth Ward, one of the city's poorest areas, is part of the 40 percent of the city still without power, three months after Katrina hit. Thousands of residences were destroyed in the area. ...http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/12/01/katrina/main1091642.shtml?CMP=OTC-RSSFeed&source=RSS&attr=U.S._1091642

Two animal handlers who say they were fired for refusing to expose their breasts to a 300-pound gorilla have settled their lawsuit against the Gorilla Foundation on undisclosed terms. Nancy Alperin and Kendra Keller, both in their mid-40s, claimed that Gorilla Foundation president Francine "Penny" Patterson pressured them to indulge Koko the gorilla's "nipple fetish" as a way of bonding with the 33-year-old female. ...http://www.usatoday.com/news/offbeat/2005-12-01-gorillacase_x.htm?csp=34

Iraqis have asked Saddam Hussein’s defense team to mull the possibility of fielding the captured Iraqi President as a candidate for future elections, one of his lawyers said in remarks published yesterday. “Iraqis have asked the defense team to study the legal conditions to present Saddam Hussein as a candidate for elections, first as a Member of Parliament then as a president,” Jordan’s Al-Dustour daily quoted former Qatari justice minister Najib Al-Nu'aimi as saying. “If this contradicts with the legal system then President Saddam will be nominated simply as a candidate,” he said, without specifying if Saddam could try to run in the Dec. 15 election. Al-Nuaimi is among three foreign lawyers along with former US attorney general Ramsey Clark and Jordanian lawyer Issam Ghazzawi who were sworn in by the Iraqi court as members of Saddam’s defense at Monday’s hearing. ...http://www.aljazeerah.info/1%20n/Iraqis%20Want%20Saddam%20to%20Run%20for%20Elections,%20Says%20Former%20Qatari%20Justice%20Minister.htm

Sunni Muslim leader, Adnan Al-Dulaim, said in a press conference in Baghdad today that the US-led military campaign in Western Iraq should be stopped immediately. He said that ultimately it will lead to antagonizing Sunni Muslims in Western Iraq, who may not participate in the coming parliamentary elections as a result of what's happening to them now. Al-Dulaimi also demanded the release of Iraqis who have been detained without charges or evidence. Iraqi resistance fighters attacked several U.S. bases and government offices with mortars Thursday before dispersing in Al-Ramadi, the capital of western Iraq's Al-Anbar province, residents and police said. US-backed Iraq's interior minister on Thursday also fired his top official for human rights in connection with a torture investigation. ...http://www.aljazeerah.info/1%20n/2%20US%20Soldiers%20Killed%20Thursday,%204%20Killed%20Wednesday,%20Resistance%20Attack%20on%20US%20Base,%20US%20Military%20Campaign%20May%20Decrease%20Sunni%20Participation%20in%20Elections.htm

The European Central Bank (ECB) has ignored warnings about an economic slowdown and raised interest rates. It is the first time the ECB has changed rates since June 2003 and the first time they have risen since 2000. Looking to control inflation, the ECB lifted its key rate by a quarter of a percentage point to 2.25%. Critics argued that higher borrowing costs could cause a slowdown in growth and pointed to the mixed economic picture in key eurozone members. ECB president Jean-Claude Trichet countered these arguments by saying that recent data showed economic growth had strengthened in the eurozone during the second half of this year. Even with the quarter percentage point increase, Mr Trichet said that interest rates were accommodative and consistent with anchoring inflation expectations. ...http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/4488550.stm